[Pages S2485-S2486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Mike Huckabee

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I am delighted that, today, the U.S. 
Senate is going to confirm Governor Mike Huckabee to be our U.S. 
Ambassador to Israel.
  Governor Huckabee is a fierce friend to one of our closest allies. He 
is the right leader to have this very important job. This is a man who 
has visited Israel more than 100 times. He knows its people. He knows 
its purpose. He knows its potential. He also knows its promise. That is 
why I am sure that he will receive bipartisan support today.
  His confirmation will strengthen the unbreakable bond between America 
and Israel. It is a bond that is stronger than ever under President 
Trump. Security is the backbone of our special relationship, and shared 
values are our moral bedrock. Liberty, faith, and opportunity--those 
are our shared beliefs. That is why America has always supported 
Israel.
  Historically, in 1948, America recognized the creation of Israel 11 
minutes after its birth. America was the first Nation to recognize a 
free and democratic Jewish State. We have stood shoulder to shoulder 
with the people of Israel ever since.
  President Trump's record is proof of America's unwavering support. 
His first term delivered historic progress. He forged the Abraham 
Accords and shattered decades of deadlock to bring peace and prosperity 
to the Middle East. He moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to 
Jerusalem, as promised, which is Israel's eternal capital. President 
Trump recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He stood 
firm against Iran. The nomination and confirmation of Governor Huckabee 
improves on that stellar record.
  Today, the threats facing the United States and Israel are growing, 
menacing. Iran is racing to nuclear weapons. Iran's hired henchmen 
attack Israel from all sides. Hamas continues to wage war against 
Israel, and it continues to hold innocent hostages captive. The Houthis 
in Yemen are launching drone attacks against Israel. Israel's right to 
defend itself is not up for debate. America's security assistance to 
Israel is not a handout. It is necessary to keep Israel safe, and it is 
necessary to stop terrorism. Republicans understand that. We back 
Israel unequivocally. Yet Democrats in this body are wavering.
  Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont tried to cancel $8.8 
billion in weapons transfers to Israel. He failed. Every Republican 
voted with Israel, but 15 Democrats voted against Israel. This isn't 
the first time this year that Senate Democrats have stood against 
Israel. Today, there is a loud pro-Hamas fringe, and they are trying to 
hijack the Democrat Party. It isn't just happening in the Senate; it is 
happening around the country; it is happening by campus radicals on our 
Nation's college campuses. This is worse than bad politics. This is 
dangerous policy.
  We are at an inflection point in history. Hamas launched a brutal 
attack against Israel on October 7 of 2023. It was the deadliest 
single-day attack against the people of Israel and the Jewish people 
since the Holocaust. Israel continues to fight for its safety and its 
survival. Faced with this reality, Democrats are still abandoning 
Israel, and that puts both Israel and America at risk.
  Here are the facts: Israel is a democracy; Hamas terrorists are 
butchers. Israel shields its citizens; Hamas uses its citizens as human 
shields. Israel sends food to Gaza; Hamas steals the food and starves 
the people. That is why the Palestinian people are protesting against 
Hamas. Hamas faces the most serious challenge to its rule in 18 years. 
Israel fights terror. It has every right to defend itself. America has 
chosen a side. We stand with Israel. Our support is unwavering. It is 
unbreakable--no apologies made. Peace in the Middle East starts with 
supporting Israel, not appeasing our adversaries.
  The roadblock to peace continues to be Iran. President Trump is 
restoring

[[Page S2486]]

maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. President Trump is choking off 
Iran's oil sales with strong sanctions. President Trump is hammering 
the Houthi terrorists who attack our troops. President Trump has 
reversed Joe Biden's foolish arms embargo on Israel. This is going to 
help Israel win the war, and it will help bring home the hostages. 
President Trump is slapping down sham kangaroo courts that target 
Israel simply for defending itself. This is leadership. This is moral 
clarity.
  The Senate is moving to confirm Governor Huckabee in spite of 
Democrat efforts to slow it down. We are right to do that. America and 
Israel share urgent challenges. We also share a sacred cause. Governor 
Huckabee is the right man at the right time with the right values to 
carry forward that cause.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to comment on the statement 
on Israel just made by my friend and colleague from the State of 
Wyoming.
  I am proud of the fact that President Harry Truman was the first 
President to recognize Israel's right to exist, and I certainly concur 
with that sentiment to this day. The creation of the State of Israel 
after World War II was almost inevitable if this group of people were 
to exist.
  The Holocaust was a reminder of the prejudice against many of the 
Jewish faith and the enduring struggle which they have been engaged in 
for decades, if not centuries.
  It was the right thing to do.
  There have been times in history when Israel stood with us when we 
desperately needed their help, and there have been times when we have 
disagreed with their policy. That has never diminished, for me 
personally or for our Nation, our commitment to Israel's right to exist 
and our commitment to the values that Israel stands for in the Middle 
East and around the world.
  What happened on October 7 was horrific--horrific. Some 1,200 
innocent Israelis were killed, butchered, murdered by terrorists under 
the flag of the Hamas movement. And, unfortunately, they took hostages 
as well. I don't know the exact number, but I believe it was over 250 
hostages who were taken. Some still remain in captivity under the 
control of Hamas.
  Israel is defending itself, and it has a right to do that. Israel 
certainly has a right to exist, and no terrorist organization on its 
border should be allowed to do so with impunity.
  My concern--and it was expressed graphically, dramatically, in last 
Sunday's ``60 Minutes'' program. I commend that program to those who 
would like to see what is happening on the ground in Gaza.
  It is estimated that 50,000 people have been killed or seriously 
wounded among the Palestinians. That goes way beyond any members of 
Hamas or any terrorist organization. They are innocent people, the 
Palestinians in the Gaza area, who are simply trying to exist. They are 
fighting every possible element, not only an act of war with armaments 
killing innocent people, a large number being women and children, but 
also the fact that they are restrained from leaving that area and going 
to surrounding countries, which don't want to see the controversy 
exported to their borders.
  Secondly, there is the simple question of humanitarian assistance for 
the people in Gaza. There is a disparity in the reports from the area. 
Some report that the humanitarian aid is being held back from the 
Palestinians--innocent Palestinians--to the detriment of their 
hospitals and feeding their people. Some suggest that a famine is 
underway in some parts of Gaza.
  I don't have any personal knowledge, but, I will tell you, the scenes 
that were depicted last Sunday on ``60 Minutes'' are heartbreaking.
  Two doctors from Chicago had gone there risking their lives to 
volunteer to try to save the children and those who have been the 
victims of Israeli bombing. And I am sorry to say they have not been as 
successful as they would have liked to have been. But they reported to 
us graphically what is going on there with the lack of medical 
supplies, the lack of hospitals and basic food and sustenance that is 
needed by the people in that area.
  By every single measure, this war has to end. If it is going to 
continue until every Hamas terrorist is killed, I am afraid there will 
be thousands and thousands of innocent Palestinians lost in the 
process. Why? Because the Hamas soldiers hide themselves among the 
general population and use them as their shield. It is a dastardly, 
deadly strategy which has cost so many lives.
  Those of us who voted to restrain the weapons that were going to be 
sent by the United States to Israel did it with the understanding that 
there were particular weapons--for example, the detonation bombs that 
weigh a ton or more--that could kill innocent people and have, over and 
over again.
  This war must come to an end. This cease-fire should be resumed, and 
the hostages returned immediately--all hostages returned immediately. I 
am not making any excuse for Hamas, but I have to tell you, after 
meeting with the doctors who have been there, it breaks my heart to 
think this continues every day, and innocent people are in the midst of 
this gunfire and losing their lives.
  Whatever your cause may be, wherever you stand politically, we should 
all keep them in mind as we decide what our future course of action 
will be.